As sure a summer follows spring we get to the time of year where EA release their annual update to the beautiful game on this current generation of consoles. It’s safe to say that this is indeed the most comprehensive and complete version of the game but you also get the feeling that EA have reached a plateau and are waiting to unleash the all new ignite engine on the new consoles.

So what has become of FIFA this year around? A little bit of spit and polish, some tidying up of the menus and navigation, the introduction of Soccer Saturday’s Jeff Stelling to introduce the games and some tweaks and twizzles to the gameplay. Once again it’s more evolution than revolution and to be honest that’s all it needs given it was already a well honed, well oiled game engine.

Where the game feels different is something I remarked upon when I played both the PES and FIFA demos a few weeks ago. There’s a weight about the players now, a far more realistic feeling of turning, of tackling, of getting to grips with controlling the ball and turning to play. Players like Messi, Ronaldo, Bale and the likes have instant control and an inherent ability to turn tail and hike it at pace whereas you’ll find trying to do similar things with defenders or midfielders a far more labour intensive exercise. It’s just another little nod of realism that adds to the overall feel of the game and it feels good.

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Naturally with these changes you invariably spend the first hour or two cursing as you have to re-adjust the tactics and play styles that you perhaps had set so well in FIFA 13 . Once bedded in though you find yourself back in the swing of things, pinging cross-field balls and outside of the foot skill-shots with great aplomb. Tactical defending, while still tricky, is hugely rewarding when successful but can also lead to huge gaps for the opposition to exploit if done wrong too. It’s another step to that utopia of the perfect digital recreation of the game we know and love so well.

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As with last year you have any number of leagues and cups to go for, the career mode to tackle as a pro player or manager, online leagues, teams and friendlies and of course the all-consuming Ultimate Team mode that EA have honed once again into a tactical card battle that can find you losing hours and days of your life as you strive for that perfect chemistry and perfect team.

As I mentioned at the start, this is really the most comprehensive football game out there at the moment. At its core there’s an absolutely solid footballing engine that plays a beautiful game, but look behind it and you can find a masterfully tactical game in its own right with Ultimate Team. There’s something to grab players and managers alike here and it will be interesting to see just what the ignite engine will bring to the table when FIFA14 is released in a few months time on the new consoles.